Various embodiments of the present invention relate generally to latch mechanisms and, more particularly, an integrated rod feature for a sill button interface to a cable of a vehicle latch.
Conventional latch mechanisms may include multiple items, each coupled to a lever or other component of the latch for carrying out various functions, such as locking and/or releasing the latch for example. The current state of art for latching systems with a sill button feature on a vehicle is to have rod linkages attached to the sill button to achieve inside locking and unlocking as the sill button is moved up and down.
In addition and in some configurations there is a rocker arm mechanism that is used to reverse the lock/unlock direction, which in turn results in an inefficient system leading to stroke loss and higher efforts due to more mechanical components. The problem faced by having systems with a rigid sill rod and/or a rocker arm mechanism or bell crank mechanism is that due to certain packaging constraints these systems are not particularly suited for certain vehicle door configurations. Accordingly, it is desirable to eliminate the rigid sill rod on front door latch systems as well as also eliminate the bell crank mechanism and/or rigid sill rods in rear door latch systems in order to allow for ease of assembly.
Accordingly, it is desirable to provide an improved linkage system for operatively coupling a sill button to the latch wherein rigid sill rods and/or bell crank or rocker mechanisms are eliminated.